Qantas’ brand value flies among world’s top airlines

Qantas’ brand value flies among world’s top airlines
By Anne Majumdar


Although Emirates remains the world’s most valuable airline brand, Qantas has also seen impressive brand value growth according to a new study.

Every year, leading brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance puts thousands of the world’s top brands to the test, evaluating which are the most powerful and the most valuable, including the 50 most valuable airline brands.

“Emirates continues to soar, adding 17% to its brand value this year,” Brand Finance chief executive David Haigh commented.

By 2020, the airline is expected to become the first Middle Eastern brand to enter the ranking’s top 100.

American Airlines also grew by a huge 69% due, in part, to the rebranding of US airways under the AA brand following their merger in 2013 rather than organic brand value growth.

Meanwhile, Qantas scores in the ‘consumer’ section of Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index saw a marked increase, with perceptions among external stakeholders and staff also improving significantly in 2015. Its financial performance is looking positive too with forecast revenues and margins on the up.

“Qantas has been able to maintain brand vitality in the face of some significant but important cuts that have improved profitability, brand value and Qantas’ financial sustainability,” Brand Finance Associate Director Savio D’Souza said.

Malaysia airlines, however, continued to suffer from the fallout of two notorious disasters in 2014 involving MH370 and MH17. The airline’s brand value is down 26% to US$462 million and it has become the weakest brand in the top 50.

But even more significant was Lufthansa’s decline with brand value down more than a billion dollars following a 27% drop.

Although brand contagion from the Germanwings crash was relatively limited, the airline’s problems are more the result of its market share is being eroded by budget carriers, with Ryanair launching a four times daily service between Berlin and Cologne (one of Lufthansa’s key routes) in 2015.

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